MODULE 2 / WK 3
design
M2 / WK 3
In choosing one of the concepts to develop we strived to choose a design that is versatile and adaptable and provided enough scope for change without compromising the idea behind it. For these reasons, we decided to go with the exo-skeleton/back bone concept. The heavy structural basis allows for large amounts of variation in arrangement, shape and material of the ‘bones’ which means that we can create a variety of variant designs around the same concept. Not only this but we felt that we could incorporat the skin and bone system effectively here. From the pin-up presentations of Module One, we understood that we needed to adapt the concepts we found in the kite in our design and thus we aimed to emulate the cross-section of the span and the spline and the joinery systems of the bones as well as adapting the taut stretching of material over the end points of the bone structure. When discussing the concept we shared various precedents and examples from nature that we felt was relevant to the concept. The selected concept centered around the exoskeleton/back bone concept. When taking this literally, our research revealed interesting anatomical anecdotes from insects where the bone structure is on the exterior of their body and acts like a protective shell for the soft, internal organs. When thinking of this in relation to the ‘second skin’ brief, we felt that a protective rib-like structure spreading from the center of the spine reflected our idea of a protective, rigid skeleton on the outside of the body that protects the inner softeness of the flesh. We also wanted to retain the theory of personal space discussed in Sommer’s article in that people often shy away from confrontation of direct contact in high density circumstances. The rigidity and framing structure of the exo-skeleton provides the physcial back-bone and the encouragement to maintain positive, strong and direct body positioning so as not to shy away from such interpersonal interactions.
Derek Huynh & India McKenzie
This sculpture comments on the concept of blinkered a human from the surrounding environments and focusing their gaze forward. The use of the horse equipment incorporates the interactions of animals and humans and the way we can manipulate the way we see the world around us and the scope of our vision. Image Source: Romm, J. 2009, ‘Media Literacy: Is the New York Times Coverage of Global Warming Fatally Flawed?, World Changing: Change You’re Thinking. Sourced at: http://www.worldchanging. com/archives/009471.html.
M2/WK 3
Derek Huynh & India McKenzie
In order to include aspects of our study of the kite, we decided to adopt a notch joining system. We found that this was a stable and appropriate way to fix perpendicular rods. Including a wire cross twist, the fixtures are intended to be rustic and each one be individually created. This kind of craftsmanship emphasises the progressive construction methods of attaching each rib to the spine fixture. This emulates the way in which the bone system operates in the kite to provide maximuam stability without using heavy, excessive binding materials or messy adhesives.
M2 / 2.1
Derek Huynh & India McKenzie